Quote Center: St. John's Postgame @ Marquette

COURTESY OF ST. JOHN’S RED STORM ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE

St. John’s Head Coach Chris Mullin:

On defeating Marquette twice…

“I think our defense against Markus Howard and the Hauser brothers is the focal point. We’ve got some length and guys that can move their feet, so I think the switching helps but you still have to guard them. Howard can get free and get 40 in a half. The Hauser brothers, if you give them an inch, they’ll make shots. Overall, I thought we did a really good job again. They got hot towards the end again, getting free a little bit but our focus was to get them to play off the dribble. Try to get them to the two and live with some of the post ups and two-point shots. Through the first half, they got going in transition. Forty minutes of defense was exceptional. [They’re] one of the best offensive teams in the country with three of the best shooters I’ve seen together on the team ever. I think holding them to 69 on their own court is pretty phenomenal defense. The best thing about tonight was I could tell that they felt they were playing defense and could stop them. Deep down they felt they could stop them. For us, it’s a great bounce back game.”

On stopping Marquette’s comeback…

“We were trying to get stops. We felt if we got the stops, we would win the game. It’s a tough thing to do for 40 minutes. At some point, you find a rhythm and we came up with one stop at the end and that’s what it came down to with a clean rebound. Early on, the offensive rebounds, put backs and getting to the free throw line helped. In 40 minutes, you are going to give something up and you have to be good enough to regroup and get the one stop at the end.”

On Shamorie Ponds…

“You can see it pretty quickly when he’s moving with pace. Tonight, the first possession you could see he had some good thrust and pace that he maintained the whole night. He made some big baskets. He’s important to us because he draws a lot of attention and gets other guys open looks. His passing, screening and playing off the ball will get him points. When you are playing with pace and doing the little details to help [your] teammates, it makes him that much tougher to guard.”

On 2-1 road trip…

“We talked about coming out here and being on our own. Obviously we take it one [game] at a time but everyone has the big picture. I always go back to preparation, mentally and physically, and being resilient. Whatever happened, happened and we have to learn from it and move on. Our four veteran guys understand that and they are leading the way for the guys that need help. They ended up being the guys that made all the plays tonight.”

Junior guard Shamorie Ponds:

On scoring 13 of the team’s last 14 points…

“I mean, coach drew it up and I just wanted to execute the plays. We wanted to get hot with our pick and roll.”

On game-clinching basket…

“I was just in attack mode. I got by him and finished at the rim. I just tried hurrying the play because the shot blockers were coming.”

On what this win over #10 Marquette means to the team…

“It’s definitely a big win. It’s big for the program to beat Marquette [on their home court]. They don’t lose here. I’m really glad we came up with the win.”

On the team’s upcoming schedule (five of next six games at home)….

“We’re definitely ready to take off. We preach protecting our home court. We definitely have to go with that mindset.”

On Justin Simon’s defense during the last possession….

“If you ask me, Justin [Simon] is the best defender in our conference. We expected this out of him, just like we did at home.”

Junior guard Justin Simon:

On his performance today…

“Personally, I felt like I was struggling the past couple of games. At Butler, I felt like I didn’t play my best and again with Georgetown at home. At Creighton I was sick. At Duke I was still getting over being sick. This game I wanted to come out and be aggressive and do what my team needed me to do. Coach [Mullin] wanted me to be a cutter, screener, and defensively they know what I can bring to the table and I think I did that today.”

On the Markus Howard stop at the end of the game…

“We need more of that. We have to stop some more guards in the BIG EAST from here on out.”

On his success in regards to guarding Markus Howard…

“It’s a team thing. We put some fresh bodies out on the court. We switch a lot and give him different looks throughout the game. I felt like I threw his rhythm off. Just working like a dog. Making him a driver instead of being the three-point threat that he is. I made sure to take that away and make his teammates make plays instead of him. He’s an incredible player. One of the best in the BIG EAST.”

On Shamorie Ponds’ performance…

“His will to win and his maturity stood out tonight. He’s matured over the past three years. He’s a big-time player and he made some big plays tonight. Down the stretch, he had us in the huddle telling us to lock up and defend. We put the ball in his hands, created space for him and he made some great plays.”